Inflatable boats



"June 24, 1969 D. V.IV,EI?DWAYRDS ,4

INFLATABLE BOATS Filed Jan. 30, 19s? Sheet of 4 3041/0 VEB n/o/v 01m? 0s INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 24, 1969 D. v. EDWARDS INFLATABLE BOATS- Sheet Filed Jan. 30, 1967 FIG.5.

FIG.6.

X 2,400 VEeA/o/u [Ow/71605 IN VE N TOR BY a Qxcdv AT TORNEY June 24,- 1969 D. v. EDWARDS 3,451,078

' INFLATABLE BOATS Filed Jan. 50, 1967 Sheet 3. of 4 FIG 7. 2 4

BY n zuwlq/ AT/TORNEY June 24, 1969 o. v. EDWARDS INFLATABLE BOATS Sheet Filed Jan. 30, 19 7 INVENTOR BY fwwo ATTORNEY United States Patent U.S. C]. 9-2 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A foldable inflatable boat is constructed having a bow and sides formed from a single inflatable hull member, or having sides and optionally bow formed from separate inflatable hull members. The bottom of the boat is formed from at least two boards, hingedly connected to one another and to the inflatable hull member or members by means of waterproof joints.

Background of the invention This invention relates to inflatable boats of the type having inflatable hull members which are substantially circular in cross-section.

Conventional boats in this category have normally a single hull member which, on inflation, forms a substantially horseshoe shape defining the bow and sides of the boat. The stern of the boat may be formed from the same or an additional inflatable hull member, giving a boat suitable only for rowing, or from a solid transom, upon which an outboard motor can be mounted. The bottom of such boats is formed from a waterproof fabric attached permanently to the hull members by waterproof joints.

Bottom boards are after fitted into such boats above the aforementioned fabric bottom, particularly if the boat is to be propelled by an outboard motor. In some types of boat, the bottom boards must be fitted in above the fabric bottom before the hull members are fully inflated. In other types, the bottom boards are designed to fold and can be placed in position above the fabric bottom after the hull members are fully inflated. Such foldable boards are frequently locked into position after fitting and, if the aforementioned solid transom in the stern is to carry an outboard motor, the bottom boards are locked against this transom, and also against a thrust board or fixed member near the bows of the boat, in order to prevent the bottom boards from moving forward under the thrust of the motor and thus becoming ineffective.

Many boats of the type that have a transom, and bottom boards fitted into place above a fabric bottom, can have also an inflatable or rigid keel, between the bottom boards and the fabric bottom. This keel, ifrigid, assists in taking the thrust of an outboard motor, but another purpose, especially of inflatable keels, is to provide an air space between the fabric bottom and the bottom boards, so as to reduce chafing damage on the fabric bottom, by localising the chafing to that area of the fabric bottom in contact with the keel. This area in contact with the keel can be protected by additional thicknesses of fabric or by a suitable moulding.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides an inflatable boat not subject to the various disadvantages exhibited by boats of the type known from the prior art. The boat according to the invention is made from an inflatable hull member or members forming the sides and optionally the bow of the boat and has a bottom composed of a plurality of 3,451,078 Patented June 24, 1969 ice boards and a transom comprising the stern of the boat, said bottom boards and said transom being hingedly connected to adjacent boards and to the hull member or members by means of waterproof joints.

By this means it is ensured that the boat can be folded into a small space for stowage and, while, when the boat is inflated, a rigid and waterproof structure is ensured which is able to accommodate the thrust from an outboard motor mounted in the stern, the problems of the chafe on fabric bottoms are avoided. Moreover by mould ing suitable skegs in the bottom boards it is possible to provide the boat with the means of ensuring directional stability when the board is being rowed or driven by an outboard motor.

Brief description of the drawings For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross section through boat,

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section showing one method of hingedly connecting the bottom boards,

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal section showing one method of attaching the stern transom to a bottom board,

FIGURE 4 is a vertical elevation showing the underside of the stern of the boat,

FIGURE 5 is a vertical elevation of the boat from above,

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal section showing one embodiment of the boat,

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal section showing a preferred embodiment of the bows of the boat,

FIGURE 8 shows another method of hingedly conmeeting the bottom boards,

FIGURE 9 is a cross-section along the line XX of FIGURE 6,

FIGURE 10 is a longitudinal section showing a preferred embodiment of the stern of the boat,

FIGURE 11 is a longitudinal section showing a preferred embodiment of the boat,

FIGURE 12 is a longitudinal section showing the boat when deflated and folded, and

FIGURE 13 is a vertical elevator of a boat with a single inflatable hull member.

Throughout the description, like reference numerals are used to denote like partsin the drawings.

Description of the preferred embodiments A boat according to the invention has bottom boards 1, 3 and 5 made, for example, of glass-fiber-reinforced plastics material, and inflatable side tube or tubes 2. A boat according to the invention can comprise a single U shaped tube as shown in FIG. 13 but in a preferred embodiment of the invention it can consist of more than one tube linked by a transom at the bow 12 and the stem 7 as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 11. In a preferred embodiment of the invention each tube is constructed from one sheet of fabric, for example neoprene-proofed nylon. One longitudinal seam together with end seams are made as shown in FIG. 1. The flat seam so formed is used for attachment to the fioorboard 1 and a V strip 25 is preferably added to seal the edge of the floorboard. When a tube is constructed with only one longitudinal seam any bias in the fabric will cause the tube to twist. This would result in both port and starboard tubes twisting in the same direction and the boat as a whole would be twisted. A method of overcoming the problem is to use fabric with identical inside and outside surfaces and to make one tube with one surface on the outside and the other tube cut from adjacent fabric on the same roll with the reverse surface on the outside. Any twist in the tubes is then equal and opposite and the boat as a whole is not twisted but straight.

The floorboards 1, 3 and 5 are fitted with skegs or keels 9 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the skegs or keels are moulded as shown in FIGS. 1 and 11.

An inflatable thwart 16 is attached to the side tubes or the floorboards and when inflated the floorboards are bent as shown in FIG. 1. An alternative thwart 11 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 this being of rigid material and the floorboards are bent to the desired shape by action of the support 24. The thwart 16 or 11 is preferably located over the join between two floorboards so that the join is strengthened and also partly hidden from the occupants of the boat. The inflatable thwart 16 is preferably made from one sheet of fabric folded over with flat seams and its attachment to the boat made by using the flat protrusion of the seam as shown in FIG. 1. V strips 30 reinforce the attachment against peeling when under load.

The join between the floorboards is made with strips 4 shown in FIG. 2 or 411 and 412 shown in FIG. 8. The strips 4a and 4b are secured to each other for some distance so that any tendency to peel them from the floorboards is reduced. However, in the case of the join between the small board 15 and adjacent boards 3 and 1 the gap is so small that diagonal strips 26 are employed to prevent peeling (see FIG. A transom 7 is secured to the flat end seams of the side tubes 2 (see FIGS. 6 and 10). As an alternative the transom may be secured to the side of the tube by known means as shown in FIG. 13. The join between transom 7 and floorboard 1 is by means of flexible strips 21 shown in FIG. 10.

A brace 14 which also provides a stern seat is fitted between the transom 7 and a raised portion on board 15 as shown in FIG. 10. The brace serves to hold the transom in a rearward position and the floorboards in a downward position. Alternatively a brace 10 may be fitted between the transom and the thwart 11 as shown in FIG. 6 or between the transom and inflatable thwart 16 in a similar way. Board 15 being a tight fit between adjacent boards 3 and 1 also serves to transmit through the boat the thrust imparted by an outboard motor, not shown, which may be fitted to transom 7. The action of a brace 14 and inflatable thwart 16, forces the floor-boards downwards giving a desirable sheer to the boat as shown in FIG. 11.

The bow portion of the boat is fitted with a floor of flexible material 28, a bulkhead 17 and a bow apron 13 shown in FIG. 7. A bow transom 12 is provided to stiffen the bow and this may be permanently fixed or made as a loose piece. In the latter case inflation of the side tubes serves to hold it in place. If the bow transom is permanently fixed it could have its forward face exposed as shown in FIG. 6. A painter 19 is attached to the bow by passing it through a hole in the bow transom 12 and securing it at the inside with a knot as shown in FIG. 11. A support 27 serves to hold up the bow apron 13 as shown in FIG. 11.

Rowlocks 22 are positioned so that they stow in the moulded shape of the floorboards when the boat is folded as shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 shows the method of fold- While certain preferred embodiments of the inflatable boat of the invention are disclosed hereinabove, it is possible to produce still other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention concept herein disclosed, and accordingly it should be understood that all 4 matters contained in the above description and in the accompanying drawings should be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A collapsible boat comprising a bow and sides formed by at least one inflatable hull member, at least two solid bottom boards comprising a portion of the undersurface of said boat and a solid stern transom, at least one of said bottom boards having a keel directly attached thereto for directional stability extending therefrom parallel to the foreand aft-axis of the boat, said bottom boards being interconnected with said stern transom, and said bottom boards being interconnected with each other by flexible waterproof strips and connected to said at least one inflatable hull member at the sides of the boat by means of waterproof strips.

2. A boat according to claim 1 having two inflatable hull members forming the sides of the boat, said inflatable hull members being connected at the stern by a stern transom and at the bow by a bow transom, said bow and stern transoms being hingedly connected to said hull members and to adjacent floor boards by waterproof strips.

3. A boat according to claim 1 wherein a single inflatable hull member comprises the bow and sides of said boat.

4. A boat according to claim 2 wherein the two inflatable hull members are formed from a material having two identical surfaces, one of said surfaces being on the outside of one of said hull members and the other of said surfaces being on the outside of the other of said hull members.

5. A boat according to claim 1 having a center thwart formed by an inflatable member fastened to said at least one hull member.

6. A boat according to claim 1 having a center thwart formed by a solid board attached to said at least one hull member.

7. A boat according to claim 6 having a detachable seat, adapted to fit against said stern transom and said center thwart, said detachable seat serving to brace said stern transom rigidly when said at least one hull member is inflated.

8. A boat according to claim 1 having a detachable diagonal bracing member adapted to fit against said stern transom and against one of said bottom boards, said diagonal bracing member serving to brace said transom against the thrust of an outboard motor, and serving as a seat.

9. A boat according to claim 1 wherein said keel is molded in the bottom boards.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,504,225 4/ 1950 Randrup 92 3,168,751 2/ 1965 Cavaignac et al 92 3,170,174- 2/1965 Hanel 92 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,106,631 5/1961 Germany. 645,184 7/ 1962 Canada.

OTHER REFERENCES Popular Science, March 1956, p. 110. Popular Mechanics, May 1964, p. 112.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD A. DORNON, Assistant Examiner. 

